NEW YORK, June 15 ― US stocks ended lower yesterday as investors were cautious going into next week's Federal Reserve meeting, while a warning from Broadcom of a broad weakening in global demand weighed on chipmakers and added to US-China trade worries.
Shares of Broadcom Inc fell 5.6 per cent after it cut its full-year revenue forecast by US$2 billion (RM8.33 billion), blaming the US-China trade conflict and export curbs on Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.
Other chip companies, which both source product and sell heavily in China, dropped sharply. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index tumbled 2.6 per cent.
Investors are bracing for next week's Fed meeting in light of recent market expectations that the US central bank could cut interest rates as much as three times this year.
Some strategists say stocks are primed for a selloff should the Fed fail to take an even more dovish tilt.
The S&P 500 index has so far gained 4.9 per cent in June and registered a second straight week of gains yesterday, largely on the rate cut hopes.
“We're going to be on pins and needles until we get some indication from the Fed,” said Brian Battle, director of trading at Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago.
“That's what matters. Everybody is betting that the Fed is going to cut rates, probably not in June but soon. That is a very crowded trade.”
The ongoing trade battle between the United States and China also gives investors reason to play it safe ahead of the weekend.
“This is kind of a wait-and-see mode. People are staying very close to their benchmarks,” said Robert Phipps, a director at Per Stirling Capital Management in Austin, Texas.
The Group of 20 summit at the end of the month may yield progress on a deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17.16 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 26,089.61, the S&P 500 lost 4.66 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 2,886.98 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 40.47 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 7,796.66.
All three major indexes posted gains for the week: the Dow rose 0.4 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 0.5 per cent and the Nasdaq added 0.7 per cent.
During the session, shares of Apple Inc slipped 0.7 per cent, with Broadcom a major supplier to the iPhone maker.
Adding to global demand worries, Chinese data pointed to the worst slowdown in industrial growth in 17 years. China's industrial output growth in May slowed below expectations and showed signs of weakening demand.
In a bright spot, data showed US retail sales increased in May and sales for the prior month were revised higher, suggesting a pick-up in consumer spending that could ease fears the economy was slowing down sharply in the second quarter.
Online pet products retailer Chewy Inc ended up 59 per cent in its market debut, joining a host of high-profile names, such as Lyft Inc and Uber Technologies Inc, that listed on US stock exchanges this year.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.53-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.79-to-1 ratio favoured decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 47 new highs and 82 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was 5.85 billion shares, compared to the 6.83 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. ― Reuters
